Once in a Full Moon (Review)

Once in a Full Moon by Ellen Schreiber
292 Pages (Hardcover)
Katherine Tegan Books
December 28, 2010
Source: NetGalley
Format: E-Galley

Beware of a kiss under the full moon. It will change your life forever.

Celeste Parker is used to hearing scary stories about werewolves—Legend's Run is famous for them. She's used to everything in the small town until Brandon Maddox moves to Legend's Run and Celeste finds herself immediately drawn to the handsome new student. But when, after an unnerving visit with a psychic, she encounters a pack of wolves and gorgeous, enigmatic Brandon, she must discover whether his transformation is more than legend or just a trick of the shadows in the moonlight.

Her best friends may never forgive her if she gives up her perfect boyfriend, Nash, for Brandon, who's from the wrong side of town. But she can't deny her attraction or the strong pull he has on her. Brandon may be Celeste's hero, or he may be the most dangerous creature she could encounter in the woods of Legend's Run. Psychic predictions, generations-old secrets, a town divided, and the possibility of falling in love with a hot and heroic werewolf are the perfect formula for what happens . . . once in a full moon.

Growing up you are told, "Never judge a book by its cover," but honestly, how can you not? The cover of Once in a Full Moon is one of the main reasons I decided to read it – I mean it is gorgeous! Now I see that maybe that lesson was not, Some really good books have ugly covers, but instead, some not so good books have beautiful covers. This book was not bad, but just not up to my expectations.

    This book was a bit predictable, however, it did have some really good themes. It touched on the cliques of high school and how difficult it is to break away from the social standards to do the right thing. I feel this is a really important message for underclassmen in high school and pre-teens going into high school. This book was one huge moral verses social and person versus society conflict. Two very potentially good aspects of a novel, however, I did not like the way they were presented.

    The diction and dialogue, to me, sounded too childish. I am not at all interested in really complex, figurative novels; just a slightly more mature narrator would have been great. Seeing that the main character, Celeste, is in high school, her voice sounded behind her age.

    Also, there were no steamy make out scenes, or even really passionate kisses. No this is not necessary to make a good novel but I have become accustom to finding them in YA. Don’t get me wrong; a good novel could have no scenes of the sort, but a love story? I think it is kind of needed there…

    With that said, this book is very appropriate for tweens in middle school. This novel was not BAD, just not for me. I honestly think I would have loved it if I read it in sixth or seventh grade. It was an easy, quick read so I would not say that I wasted time by reading it. It was just not my up of tea, if you will.

    I will say that towards the very end the story started to get a lot better. It seemed rather clearly set up for a sequel, so we’ll see. Since the ending was good, I'll think about maybe giving a sequel a shot. Maybe.